Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of cobblers, curriers, tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

; the date of their execution is given as 25 October 285 or 286.

History

Born to a noble Roman family in the 3rd century AD, Crispin and Crispinian fled persecution for their faith, ending up at Soissons, where they preached Christianity to the Gauls while making shoes by night. It is stated that they were twin brothers. They earned enough by their trade to support themselves and also to aid the poor. Their success attracted the ire of

Rictus Varus Rictius Varus (Rictiovarus, Rixius Varus, Rexius Vicarius) was a Vicarius in Roman Empire, Roman Gaul at the end of the 3rd century, around the time of the Diocletianic Persecution. The ''Roman Martyrology'' contains many references to the prefect ...

, governor of

Belgic Gaul Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany. In 50 BC, af ...

, who had them tortured and thrown into the river with

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s around their necks. Though they survived, they were beheaded by the Emperor 286.

Veneration

The

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of Saints Crispin and Crispinian is

25 October Events Pre-1600 * 285 (or 286) – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers. * 473 – Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II as ...

. Although this feast was removed from the Roman Catholic Church's universal liturgical calendar following the Second Vatican Council, the two saints are still commemorated on that day in the most recent edition of the Roman Church's martyrology. In the sixth century, a stately basilica was erected at Soissons over these saints' graves, and St. Eligius, a famous goldsmith, made a costly shrine for the head of St. Crispinian. Their remains were afterwards removed, partly by Charlemagne to Osnabrück, and partly to the church of

San Lorenzo in Panisperna The church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna is a Roman Catholic church on Via Panisperna, Rome, central Italy. It was previously known as "San Lorenzo in Formoso". It was erected on the site of its dedicatee's martyrdom. It is one of several chu ...

in Rome. They are the patron saints of cobblers, glove makers, lace makers, lace workers, leather workers, saddle makers, saddlers, shoemakers, tanners, and weavers. Especially in France, but also in England and in other parts of Europe, the festival of St Crispin was for centuries the occasion of solemn processions and merry-making, in which guilds of shoemakers took the chief part. Crispin and Crispinian are

remembered Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding (memory), encoding and storage (memory), storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: ...

in the Church of England with a commemoration on

Cultural references

The

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

was fought on Saint Crispin's feastday. Shakespeare's

St. Crispin's Day Speech The St Crispin's Day speech is a part of William Shakespeare's history play ''Henry V'', Act IV Scene iii(3) 18–67. On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, which fell on Saint Crispin's Day, Henry V urges his men, who were vastly outnumbered b ...

(sometimes called the "Band Of Brothers" Speech) from his play ''Henry V'' has immortalized the day. Also, for the Midsummer's Day Festival in the third act of '' Die Meistersinger'', Wagner has the shoemakers' guild enter singing a song of praise to St. Crispin. A 16th century legend links them to the town of Faversham, Kent, England. A plaque at Faversham commemorates their association with the town. They are also celebrated in the name of the old pub "Crispin and Crispianus" at

Strood Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its lowes ...

in Kent.

Footnotes

External links

St Crispin and St Crispinian in Faversham, Kent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crispin And Crispinian 286 deaths 3rd-century births 3rd-century Christian saints 3rd-century Gallo-Roman people Christian martyrs executed by decapitation Gallo-Roman saints Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era Shoemakers Sibling duos Anglican saints Patron saints

History

Veneration

Cultural references

See also

Footnotes

External links